Thursday, May 28, 2009

Hitler look-alike fronts new tea advertfrom UTALK Marketing.com An Adolf Hitler look-alike has being used to front a controversial new campaign to promote an anti-stress tea. The press ad for Rasayana Tea features the dictator in full uniform wearing a nazi armband and iron cross medal. But look closely. On his uniform beside the medals is also pinned a yellow smiley face badge. The work from the Art Grup advertising agency in Istanbul, Turkey, carries the strapline, “Make peace with the world. Anti-stress tea from Rasayana.” The reasoning being that if you drink this Turkish tea you’ll be less inclined to try and take over the world, create the 1,000 year Third Reich and gas millions of Jews. Other executions from the campaign feature the Hitler look-alike chillling out in a Hawaiian shirt, accessorised with a nazi armband. Reactions to the work, posted on adsoftheworld.com, unsurprisingly have been mixed with demands that the images be removed from the site. DarrenT slammed the advert saying it had, “no intelligent concept, no consumer appeal, no brand equity, no visual appeal.” Warreno, added, “This whole campaign is just really, really tasteless.

Tuesday, May 26, 2009

From the Sun! My favorite tabloid.STORE chain Next yesterday recalled a range of men's underwear after complaints it featured Nazi leader Adolf Hitler saluting planes. Next said that it had investigated the complaint and found the image - among a series of cartoons - was inspired by a picture of Russia's Lenin. But a spokesman said it was withdrawing the remaining 5,200 pairs of the underwear anyway. He said: "The complaint came in today and by the end of the day all 5,200 will be withdrawn. "We have checked with the designer who confirmed the image was inspired by Lenin. "Nonetheless, if even one customer is offended or upset we are happy to withdraw the range." The customer who complained, Ben Radomski, said he was happy the product had now been withdrawn.

The Daily Hitler points out: Somehow Lenin is okay as opposed to Hitler. Capitulating to one complaint in any situation is one of the weakest aspects of the bureaucratic west. We are not supposed to care about people's opinions unless they are worth listening to.

Saturday, May 23, 2009

Written by Philip K. Dick in the early 60s, The Man In The High Castle imagines an alternate reality in which the Axis powers won WWII and occupy the USA (among other places). The book follows several characters in their lives under Japanese control (on the west coast) and Nazi control (on the east coast). Many of the characters have read the popular (but banned) book, The Grasshopper Lies Heavy, which imagines an alternate reality in which the Allies won WWII.

Dick weaves themes of relativism throughout the story, touching on philosophy as well as history and creativity and truth. The book is well written: Dick provides just enough detail about what has happened, while leaving the reader to imagine the rest. The I Ching plays a big part in the story, both directing the actions of the characters within it who are constantly consulting the oracle before doing anything and directing the author Hawthorne Abendsen in his writing of The Grasshopper Lies Heavy (and apparently directing Dick in his writing of The Man In The High Castle). This leads to some interesting plot decisions and a very open-ended conclusion.

Highly recommended: this book is a classic of science fiction, alternate history, and Third Reich continuity fiction.

Friday, May 22, 2009

Cheeky artists "The Chapman Brothers" purchased a lot of Hitler's student watercolors for £115,000 & proceeded to add things like rainbows & black suns to them, calling the project, "If Hitler had been a Hippy, How Happy Would We Be." “If hell exists and Hitler exists in it, he would be spinning if he saw these. It’s not his work any more. It’s our work,” said one of the cheeky Chapmans. Here's another piece about this novelty-based "art" project. Something about this whole affair makes me wish that some sort of operatives of Hitler would go give these Chapman boys a going over.

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

This puppet was bought at an estate sale in Oakland, California. The previous owners were two very old men (in their 90's) that were gay. One of them was very talented artistically. Say, if you're interested in reading interesting & thought provoking ideas, type "Hitler Puppet" into a search engine & check out some of the articles that pop up.From the Puppetry Museum.

Monday, May 18, 2009

You might be thinking, "Didn't they just post this a bit ago?" Yes, i did, but a good friend just sent me this new fan-made video of Der Mussolini which features something i was looking for anyway, which is live footage of Mussolini. The mix of images is distinctly internet circa now.

Saturday, May 16, 2009

"We're marching to a faster pace. Look out, here comes the master race!"From Deutsche Welle. THEATER 05-16-2009Can Hitler be a hit? Musical "The Producers" takes the stage in Berlin They sing, they dance, they conquer France! Stormtroopers and a simpering, silly Hitler take the stage in the Berlin production of musical comedy "The Producers". Is Germany ready to laugh at its own taboos? The production is now on stage in Berlin. Titus Hoffmann, resident director at the Admiralspalast for the production of "The Producers", calls the show a love letter to show business, including an entertainment culture that once thrived in the German capital. "There was a huge cabaret scene, lots of satirical, ironic, funny people, that were killed in the Third Reich then, or they had to leave and they went to America and a lot of those people went to New York and worked on Broadway. "And somehow, it feels a bit like it's a return, and it brings the humor back to the country, which is so great. Because apart from all the awful and terrible things that happened through Hitler, what still is lacking a little in Germany is good humor." So far, not everyone here is getting the joke. Local papers have described the show as "risky" and even the production's advertising has caused a fuss. It's illegal to portray the swastika publicly in Germany, so the casually reclining Hitler in poster ads for the play wears an armband displaying a pretzel. Banners showing the doughy treat in black on a red and white banner have been hanging in the theatre courtyard for months. They've garnered double-takes from passersby, and a few complaints to the police. The storm troopers wear the real thing when they take the stage, though, due to a theatrical exception.

Thursday, May 14, 2009

The Devil With Hitler, 1942 produced by Hal Roach Studios (Little Rascals/Our Gang) Hitler, Mussolini & "Suki Yaki" (i'm dying!) are featured in a Three Stooges style slapstick comedy. These three should still be a slapstick trio, i would go see their movies like "The Axis Oafs vs. the Invisible Man & Frankenstein" in a second. Here are some screen shots.But wait, there's a sequel!

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

One of my favorites of the educational propaganda films made during WWII by Disney. I love the size comparisons. A fried egg that can cover North America! And make sure you watch out for "Vitamin X", Adolf!

Sunday, May 10, 2009

Hitler & His mother Klara with the Mutterkreuz. "Here is what is considered the most beautiful of German medals. The Mother’s Cross that was given to recognize and honor this the most important office of the Fatherland, (The Mother). Adolf Hitler instituted this on 16 December 1938. This is the first-class award that was presented for bearing eight or more children. Unlike the two lower classes, this award in gold (gilted) was presented in a hard presentation case. The award was worn suspended from a neck ribbon. It should be noted that this design is the Christian cross. The back of the cross has the words “16 Dec 1938,” and Hitler’s facsimile signature. The front says” “Der Deutschen Mutter (“The German Mother”). Several companies manufactured these medals. This one is by the famous firm of Wilhelm Daumer in Lüdensheid. It is in fine condition with a little scuffing to the case. These continue to be more and more scarce with case." from Germania International.

Saturday, May 9, 2009

Found this interesting review by John J. Reilly of an alternate history book called the Iron Dream by Norman Spinrad about Hitler not rising to power & instead coming to America, where his brief involvement with extremist politics is just a footnote & he begins to illustrate & then write pulp science-fiction. This book then prompts Reilly's idea of Lovecraft as potential American Hitler. Interesting idea to think about for certain. Have at it. I think i'll hunt down a copy of the Iron Dream for myself & present us with a review in the near future.

"Some years ago, I read a novel with the title, The Iron Dream, which purported to be science fiction written by Adolf Hitler in an alternative history (who the actual author was I do not remember). In this history, there was a Communist coup in Germany in the early 1920s, and Hitler became just another exile. (His brief involvement in reactionary politics was not worth mentioning.) He settled in the United States, where he became a commercial illustrator for pulp magazines. He took to writing for the pulps as his English improved, eventually attracting a small literary cult. He charming Viennese manners made him the star of science fiction conventions. His major novel, The Iron Dream, dealt with a political movement in a post-apocalyptic world. The movement was dedicated to cleansing the gene-pool of mutations and destroying the great mutant empire in the East. While some people detected anti-Semitic undertones in the book, Hitler's defenders noted that many of his best friends were Jewish. After his death, his stories were frequently reprinted in paperback editions, often using his own illustrations.

Howard Phillips Lovecraft (1890-1937) has a biography one might expect of a failed Hitler. Lovecraft has suffered from more than his share of posthumous Freudian analysis, but it is true that his family history (father dying while Lovecraft was young, over- protective mother) is similar to Hitler's. Both their childhoods' were prologues to some some similar life-long characteristics. Lovecraft, like Hitler, was a marginal artist. He was a better writer than Hitler was a painter, though that is not saying much. Both were very briefly married, Hitler for just a few hours, Lovecraft for a few months. Both were interested in the occult to some degree. Certainly both Nazism and Lovecraft's fiction owe a great deal to Theosophy. (Lovecraft claimed to be a sceptic. Hitler was affected by ideas of this type, though he was not a believer to the extent that Himmler and Hess were.) Both were racist Social Darwinists of the sort who viewed history as primarily determined by racial factors. Both were hypochondriacs who repeatedly forecast their early deaths. Lovecraft, whose neurasthenia kept him out of the First World War, turned out to be right. In person, both were rather shy and formal, not hard to like. Hitler loved dogs, Lovecraft loved cats."

Professor Daniel Shoup speculates that all archeology is a form of science-fiction in that it involves piecing together a story from details, but it is all speculative. The only difference is that in archaeology, the focus tends towards the past, while in science-fiction, the tendency is towards the future.

Thursday, May 7, 2009

According to a book by the last surviving member of his bunker, Hitler recounted how Mrs. Goering once found her husband waving a baton over his underwear in the bedroom and asked him what he was doing.

Last summer, artist Rachael Matthews created (and published) the pattern for this knitted Hitler doll (along with patterns for Pol Pot, Idi Amin & Saddam Hussein), predictably sending the internet into a tizzy over her bad taste and behavior.

Saturday, May 2, 2009

Dr. August Priesack, art historian employed from 1935 to 1939 in the main archives of the Nazi party, under the command of Rudolf Hess, said: "The gold plated extravagant pistol (manufactured by the Weapons Factory August Menz from Suhl; a model 11A caliber 7.65 mm; engraved by Richard Schilling from Suhl was a gift from Max Kehl fromSuhl and Munich. Because Hitler always carried a pistol with him, he liked very much this especially fine model from Suhl, a well known weapons center, engraved by a highly qualified engraver. This exquisite model, particularly because of the inscription on both sides, was not suited to pass on to others as a present...”.For several years Hitler kept the gun on him in a specially-sewn pocket of his pants. Photo copyright by Ron Laytner and Edit International.

Friday, May 1, 2009

This is a clock made for export in Germany before WWII. It is dated 1937 on the face and was intended for English-speaking people of England and the US, probably for the German-American Bund groups active at the time.

It has Hitler's first name in the Anglo variant "Adolph", and marked GERMANY on the face. The winding keys are marked in English.